Back to school already?While some of you don't yet want to think about the beginning of the 2007-08 school year, it's time to start fixing up the classrooms, gathering supplies and getting ready for the first day of school in the Arkansas River Valley. Today's River Valley Living section includes our annual Back to School section, with supply lists, registration information and stories on preparing your children for the first day of kindergarten, elementary school, ...

My kind of senior citizenBy Sean Ingram News Editor I chuckled as soon as I saw the headline. "Arkansas man, 93, shoots robber after being beaten unconscious, police say." It even made the national news Associated Press wire, which meant it was in every newsroom in the country. Good for the senior citizen. It's about time. An elderly man beaten unconscious in El Dorado by an assailant wielding a soda can awoke and shot the man during an attempted robbery, police said....

Minimum wage needs to catch up with rest of usThe following shouldn't be read by Arkansas residents, because Tuesday's 70-cent increase of the federal minimum wage doesn't affect anyone in The Natural State. Why? Because we're already paying our minimum wage earners more than what the rest of the minimum wage earners make throughout the United States. More on that later. Meanwhile, everybody else in the country can rejoice in the first of three 70-cent increases that will set the minimum ...

Another Perspective: The verdictBy Holly Ruppel Courier freelance writer Ask people from the area their opinion of the recent not guilty verdict in the Kevin Jones trial. Get it on record. Seemed like a simple assignment. A piece of cake. A walk in the park. I even set a quota for myself - 50 people. I could certainly find 50 people who were willing to have their name and hometown printed alongside their opinion. Afterall, several residents opened up and shared their opinion...

Giving their allSacrifice - one of the words we perhaps most associate with our military servicemen and women. Since the war in Iraq began more than four years ago (with campaigns in Afghanistan beginning before that), we have had almost daily news of at least one U.S. soldier killed; as of Wednesday, at least 3,620 American soldiers have sacrificed their lives. Images of soldiers injured in combat zones - some with missing limbs, others with shaved heads fro...

The least we can doA killer walks among us. Thursday afternoon, a jury in Ozark decided Kevin Jones is not that killer, but their verdict begs the question: If Jones is not responsible for the death of Nona Dirksmeyer, then who is? It's a question we may never know the answer to, because the truth died with her on Dec. 15, 2005. We are not so naive as to think the testimony and evidence presented at a murder trial is in any way the whole story - both the prosecu...

Parking lot politicsWe hope the headline above is not the way it is; however, we did hear from multiple witnesses that many of our city council members continued discussions after last Tuesday's agenda prep meeting at city hall in the parking lot. As you can imagine, the politicians of the day were probably sharing their opinions about Public Works Director Morgan Barrett's recent termination. To no one's surprise, it seems our council is divided. Arkansas is an ...

Hot weather calls for cautionIt rained for what seemed a month but now the summer heat has settled in over Arkansas warranting the annual warning of unfortunate heat-related deaths. The first-heat related death was confirmed Monday by the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health. According to the release, the person was middle-aged and resided in central Arkansas. The department did not release their name, age or exact location, citing privacy ...

Recycling: Make it your businessMay was Arkansas Heritage Month and Recycle Works, a division of the West River Valley Regional Solid Waste Management District, in cooperation with the Arkansas Arts Council, focused on making it your business to recycle. Several communities within the district have been involved in a heritage month project involving Alice Guffey Miller, an artist with the Arkansas Arts Council Arts on Tour program. This program is supported by the Arkansas A...

Be aware of uninvited guestsDoes anyone remember the last time it rained this much in the month of July? As the grass grows out of control - and it rains just enough every other day to keep some of us from much-needed mowing - we are reminded of our much smaller neighbors to be aware of when it dries out and we're able to head outdoors to continue summer activities. This kind of weather is a mosquito's paradise, with all the standing water and soaked grounds. Flies were ...

Protecting against predatorsBy Joshua McMillian Crime Prevention Officer Russellville Police Department On July 3, 2007, The Courier ran a story and the headline was "ATU student reports rape on campus." The sub-headline read "Suspect still at large." The article told the story of a young woman on the Arkansas Tech University campus who was assaulted by an unknown male in the early hours of the morning. Just thinking about this horrific crime ignites feelings of fear, an...

Countdown to 40 has begunBy Sean Ingram News Editor It wasn't one of those "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" weekends, but it was an unexpected and much-appreciated venture out of The Natural State for a day and night, which was much needed for this year older news editor. This past Saturday had been hyped to be a day to get married, hit the casinos or cash in those lottery tickets or just enjoy all that luck of the date on the calendars reading 7-7-07. Nothing ...

Recording the rulingThis editorial may be recorded for quality assurance purposes. Special Judge John Patterson, who is presiding over the State v. Jones first-degree murder trial in Ozark, ruled Monday to ban audio recorders from the courtroom. Well, we hope that's what he ruled because we couldn't check our recorder to make sure. Audio and digital recorders are a journalist's best friend. By no means are we suggesting that reporters should not take notes when i...

A jury of 12In December 2005 and only 10 days before Christmas, the Arkansas River Valley community became engulfed in a storm of confusion and disbelief. When holiday plans and family gatherings should have dominated the societal spectrum, our community and especially, one local family, was living a very real nightmare. "That just can't happen in Russellville," was the underlying thought. A cloud of shock soon suffocated the collective goodness of our to...

'Predator' coming to a town near you?Blurring the categories of civic journalism, entertainment and crime prevention, the "Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator" series has put the Internet stalking of children and their perpetrators in the spotlight. "Predator" has also provided viewers of the prime-time television show a glimpse at some of the potential child molesters - most of them quite average and unassuming in appearance, and of varying ages and professions - living among us. ...

Inmate death investigation shows lack of communicationAn internal investigation into the death of Pope County Detention Center inmate James Jamerson has revealed correctional officers failed to follow procedures in three separate instances on the day Jamerson died, according to a July 3 Courier article by Janie Ginocchio. This story, unfortunately, leaves much up to the unknown factor of "what if." What if detention center staffers listened to each other better? What if they would have pieced tog...

Tangents from the deskThe international crazy idea of the week Does stress have you wigged out, clinching your hair and looking for things to destroy? At some time, we've all been pushed to the edge as stressful careers and hectic fast-paced personal lives have our minds craving some good-old tension breaking destruction. One Spanish hotel has taken a new swing at demolition, stress relief and remodeling. According to the Associated Press, a Spanish hotel chain all...

Stay safe on the waterGuess which holiday is the busiest, and often deadliest times of the boating season? Give up? The Fourth of July, along with Memorial Day and Labor Day, typically account for more than one third of all boating related accidents and fatalities. We thought today would be a good time to remind you of some tips to stay safe while boating during this week's summer holiday, or when you're on the water the rest of the summer, courtesy of the Coast Gu...

A little more in our pockets starts todayIt took years to pass, and it finally becomes a reality today. The 6 percent state sales tax on groceries is cut in half to 3 percent. Before we start jumping for joy, let's remember those people who are involved with the transition process - retailers, grocery store employees and everyone else who has to change their machines. While some say it's not that bad, it may take some more time for consumers to figure out exactly which foods qualify ...

Setting the record straightBy Sean Ingram News Editor So, what's going on in the news these days? An attorney for a former astronaut simply had to set the record straight Friday about his client, that former astronaut who was arrested for traveling across the country and allegedly attemtping to kidnap the woman who was seeing her alleged boyfriend. The big news? Lisa Nowak did NOT wear diapers during her 950-mile road trip to confront her romantic rival. Well, thanks fo...